Relations between Hessen and Japan further consolidated

The state-owned business promotion company Hessen Trade & Invest GmbH (HTAI) and the Japanese foreign trade promotion organization JETRO (Japan External Trade Organisation) have signed a cooperation agreement in Tokyo. Minister of Economic Affairs Tarek Al-Wazir praised the deal as further consolidation of Japanese-Hessian relations. “Both sides will benefit economically,” he said.

“JETRO can look back on excellent, long-standing relations with Hessen and Hessen Trade & Invest. These good relations are also reflected in the growing number of Japanese companies who have already made Hessen their home,” said Masayoshi Watanabe, General Director at JETRO in Germany. HTAI CEO Dr. Rainer Waldschmidt called the deal the logical consequence of the good collaboration up to now.

In the deal, HTAI and JETRO commit to promoting dialog with companies in order to unlock business opportunities for both sides. There is a particular focus on the automotive industry and on information and communication technology. Exchange of products of regional and cultural significance is also to be promoted. Further topics include renewable energies and digitalization. The signing took place at an event with Japanese and Hessian business representatives, aimed at tapping potential for collaboration.

Minister Al-Wazir spent a week in Tokyo and Seoul with business representatives and parliamentarians in order to promote Hessen as an ideal bridgehead to the EU. The trip was also designed to strengthen collaboration between the financial center of Frankfurt and the financial centers of Tokyo and Seoul, and to explore business opportunities, not least in the fields of renewable energies and energy efficiency.

The volume of trade between Hessen and Japan grew to over EUR 4 billion last year, with Japanese companies investing around EUR 2.4 billion in Hessen. Nine of the 156 new investments in Hessen supported by the business promotion agencies came from Japan.

The trade volume with South Korea was almost balanced last year at EUR 2.5 billion. The Republic of Korea is the second-largest non-European source of foreign direct investment in Hessen, after the USA, with investment of more than EUR 3.6 billion last year. Around 87% of investment and more than half of Korean company set-ups (around 200) go to Hessen.